PSYCHOLOGY 445 Section A1, Fall 2018: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY AND CINEMA:
UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL BEHAVIOR THROUGH THEORY, RESEARCH, AND THE CINEMA
INSTRUCTOR: Jeff Schimel
OFFICE & PHONE: BIO SCI P319J
OFFICE HOURS: Thursday (2-3) or by appointment.
CLASSES MEET: Wednesday (1-3:50 P.M.) in BS P-226 E-MAIL: [email protected]
T.A.: Andy Scott
OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday 11:00am – 12:00pm, or by appointment.
OFFICE & PHONE: BIO SCI, P347 E-MAIL: [email protected]
COURSE PREREQUSITES
One of STAT 141 or 151 or PSYCO 212, and one of PSYCO 333, 342, 343, or 347. PSYCO 212 is strongly recommended. Note: Not open to students with credit in PSYCO 405: Studies of the Self Through Cinema.
COURSE DESCRIPTION and OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this course is to use a combination of social psychological theory, research and feature length films to explore the psychological determinants of important forms of human social behavior. Although theory and research in social psychology has taught us a great deal about human behavior, there is a great deal more to be learned. All creative expressions that attempt to portray human thoughts, feelings or actions, whether through the medium of prose, poetry, music, painting, sculpture, theater or film, involve assumptions and assertions about the psychological determinants and consequences of human behavior, but perhaps none do so in a manner as vivid, impactful, and accessible as film. Feature length films will therefore be combined with social psychological theory and research to explore the extent and limits of current knowledge
concerning topics such as the existential realities of the human condition, aggression, obedience, prejudice, attraction, relationships and well-being.
The films will be an important complement to the scholarly readings in this endeavor by serving the following functions: a) illustrating specific and significant instances of particular forms of social behavior as they occur in their natural context; b) reminding us in vivid and memorable ways of the real world phenomena social psychological theories and research are intended to explain; c) providing clues as to how various types of social issues are portrayed in the mass media and perceived by audiences; and d) helping us to clarify and assess existing knowledge and remaining questions.
READINGS
There will be a set of fairly extensive readings for each week. The readings will consist of compilations of relevant theoretical analyses and empirical reports from a wide variety of social science sources. Please keep up with the readings so that we can have interesting, informed discussions during class time. This is not the type of material you can adequately comprehend in an all-nighter the night before the exam, nor would that be the right approach for enjoying and benefiting from the course.
ASSIGNMENTS
Grades will be based on an essay midterm (35%) and final exam (35%), and a 10-12 page paper (30%). Both the midterm and the final exam will be essay and short answer format. The term paper will require you to choose a film from a list (that I will provide) and analyze the film according to the social psychological theories and research findings discussed throughout the course. You may use additional readings within the field of social psychology of your own choosing if they are readily applicable to understanding why
characters in the film behaved the way they did. I will provide some examples of a few well-written papers by former students on E-Class.
MISSED EXAMS AND ASSIGNMENTS: If you hand in an assignment late (i.e., the term paper), I will subtract 5% from your mark for each day late up to a max of 5 days. I do not allow students to miss the exams in this course because the exams are the majority of your mark. However, if you MUST miss an exam due to extreme circumstances, notify me prior to the exam and schedule a day/time to take the make-up exam.
Deferred Final Examination: For information on how to apply for a deferred exam see “I Missed my Final Exam, Now What?”
COURSE SCHEDULE
September 5 Introduction - distribute syllabus -
E-Class Lecture: CULTURE & THE SELF-ESTEEM MOTIVE
September 12 BLACK ROBE (101 minutes) September 19 Discussion of Black Robe
E-Class Lecture: MEANING &DEATH;TMT&SUPPORTING RESEARCH
September 26 MELANCHOLIA (130 minutes) October 3 Discussion of Melancholia
E-Class Lecture: THE FETISHIZATION OF EVIL;AGGRESSION IN THE INDIVIDUAL
October 10 TAXI DRIVER (128 minutes) October 17 Discussion of Taxi Driver
E-Class Lecture: THE SPELL CAST BY PERSONS;OBEDIENCE &SOCIAL INFLUENCE
October 24 GUYANA TRAGEDY (188 minutes) October 31 Discussion of Guyana Tragedy
November 7 Midterm
November 14 READING WEEK; no classes
E-Class Lecture: THE NORMALITY OF PREJUDGMENT;MOTIVATED PREJUDICE
November 21 DO THE RIGHT THING (120 minutes) November 28 Discussion of Do the Right Thing
E-Class Lecture: ROMANTIC LOVE;GROWTH &SECURITY IN RELATIONSHIPS Take home assignment: HUSBANDS AND WIVES (108 minutes)
HAPPINESS AND MATERIALISM;GENERATIVITY &THE REDEMPTIVE SELF
(Lecture notes available online) December 5 ANOTHER YEAR (129 minutes)
December 12 Term paper due by 5pm in Jeff’s office or mailbox December 19 Final Exam 9am - 12pm, Room P-319N
(WARNING: students must verify this date on BearTracks when the final Exam Schedule is posted).
Readings for Psych 445: Social Psychology and Cinema
PART I
R1: due 9/12
Birth and Death of Meaning, Becker, preface and pp. 1-12; pp. 38-86; 112-154; 180-199 The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts, Triandis, pp. 506-517
R2: due 9/26
Denial of Death, Becker, pp. 1-8; pp. 11-34
Toward a dual motive depth psychology, Greenberg, et al., pp. 73-80.
Pride and prejudice, Solomon, et al., pp. 200-204
R3: due 10/10
Escape from Evil, Becker, pp. 91-95 Escape from Evil, Becker, pp. 146-170 Aggression, Geen, pp. 1-24;
Moderating role of trait aggressiveness, Bushman, pp. 950- 960
R4: due 10/24
Denial of Death, Becker, pp. 127-158
Deliver us from Evil, Landau et al., pp. 1136-1149 Making sense of the nonsensical, Osherow, pp. 68-86 Influence, Cialdini, pp. 19-34; pp. 58-64
PART II
R5: due 11/21
The nature of prejudice, Allport, pp. 17-27; pp. 367-380 The nature of prejudice, Allport, pp. 142-161
Social cognition & stereotypes, Kunda, pp. 381-393
Toward the elimination of racism, Gaertner & Dovidio, pp. 203-207 The nature of prejudice, Allport pp. 41-46
R6: due 11/28
Denial of death, Becker, pp. 159-175
Defining and studying romantic love, Pope, pp. 1-26 On the peculiarities of loyalty, Drigotas, et al., pp. 596-609
Toward a dual motive depth psychology, Greenberg, et al., pp. 82-96 Love and the dynamics of personal growth, Csikszentmihalyi, pp. 306-326 Falling in love, Aron, Paris, & Aron, pp. 1102-1112
R7: due 12/5
Funds, Friends, and Faith, Myers, pp. 56-67
Materialism and its alternatives, Kasser, pp. 200-214 Happiness and Spending, Dunn et al., 115-125
Generativity and the Redemptive self, McAdams, pp. 235-242
Sequences of Redemption and Contamination, McAdams, et al. pp. 474-485 Lending a Hand, Coan, et al., pp. 1032-1039
The following is the grade distribution I will (roughly) use to assign grades in this course.
A+ Top 8%
A Next 12%
A- Next 17%
B+ Next 16%
B Next 16%
B- Next 12%
C+ Next 7%
C Next 5%
C- Next 3%
D+ Next 2%
D Next 1%
F Next 1%
--- Additional information and resources
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